Rams Fans United - Los Angeles Rams Fan Discussion Forum

When Akers went down I'm sure most Ram fans got that queasy feeling in their stomach, like I did. I thought "next man up....Hendo will do the job" and then Sony Michel was acquired. Even better.

Though Henderson is currently 15th in rushing, there's another stat that shows his prowess. 4.9 ypc. It isn't the 5.8 Nick Chubb is churning out or the 5.4 his team mate Kareem Hunt is showing. But of all NFL running backs with 60 carries or more (12 per game), he's #5 with that 4.9. If you stretch that out to 50 carries, he's still top 10 (#8). And if you account for the fact he's only played 4 games, averaging 73.5 ypg isn't too shabby. That equates to 1176 in a 16 game season. He's not as good as Sony Michel in blitz pickup but he's not bad either.

Speaking of Sony, he's been a good complimentary piece to Hendo.

PARAM wrote:Sony Michel in blitz pickup

I wish there was a way to qualify (put statistics on) blitz pickups and non-ol blocking.

We haven't been as lacking there as I expected. The only concern is how much time Henderson will miss. He's missed one game so far. I suppose if he only misses two or three we should be ok. None of his past injuries have caused him to miss a lot of games. Just a game here and there. Not finishing a few more. Limited snaps. That kind of stuff.

Announcers love to use the cliche about the most important ability being availability. That statement could not be more true than in DH's case. When he plays, he produces.

The key, I guess, is for him to be AVAILABLE when we play our most important games this year (hopefully one in February).

I'd still trade our RB1 & RB2 for Clevelands. Not that our guys are stinkers but a rushing attack like theirs on our team would be devastating.
Hoping Akers can make a full recovery for next year and be that guy.

Hacksaw wrote:I'd still trade our RB1 & RB2 for Clevelands. Not that our guys are stinkers but a rushing attack like theirs on our team would be devastating.
Hoping Akers can make a full recovery for next year and be that guy.

Yeah, I was thinking Akers, Hendo and Michel next year.....but Michel is a UFA. We'll probably draft another one next year. At least I hope we do.

Rather than draft one next year, there should be a really solid FA back on the market at a reasonable price. they don't command as much in salary as other positions do.

safer wrote:Rather than draft one next year, there should be a really solid FA back on the market at a reasonable price. they don't command as much in salary as other positions do.

That's a reasonable option.

In today's NFL the RB position is a catch-22. You draft a kid in the first round, you have him a minimum of 4 years, 5 if you pick up his option. By then, he's got 5 years of wear and tear. 2nd and 3rd round picks you have 4 years.

When you sign a free agent he better be a young-in because if not, he'll cost money and probably won't give you the bang for the buck.

I think the way to go is committee. And keep adding to that committee with draft picks to keep it fresh and as important, affordable. JMHO. They drafted Hendo in the 3rd and Akers in the 2nd. If they grab another next year Hendo will be a UFA in 2023, Akers 2024 (if he recovers from the achilles). Then the kid can replace one of them.

That's the way I'd go.

Yeah, I'm with PA,
shocking

....unless your name is Frank Gore, "longevity" and "NFL RB" normally do not go together....
so drafting RB YUTES to fill in the voids sounds like a good way to go.

Mind you, Les Snead's purloining of Sony Michel, #31 overall pick in the 2018 Draft, for a future 5th/6th........wasn't too shabby either eh, sportsfans!!!

The state of RBs in the NFL really is pretty amazing.

Is there such a thing as an iconic RB that we identify a team by anymore?

McCaffery? Kamara? Cook? Maybe but man things are way different nowadays...